NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. li 



by the Rev. J. E. Somerville, B.D., on a lemon-tree in a garden 

 at Mentone. 



Mr. R. Broom, M.B., CM., B.Sc, exhibited a series of micro- / ( 



scopic specimens iUustrating the peculiar proliferation of 

 epithelium in the jaws of foetal mammalians. In the course of 

 some remarks on the specimens, he attempted to prove that 

 the striicture represented the remains of a horny beak possessed 

 by the ancestors of the Mammalia, and still found in the Duck 

 Mole (Ornithorhynchus anatimis, Shaw) of Australia. This 

 beak is similar in character to that of the tadpole and tortoise, 

 and seems to be a survival of the beak which was tmdoubtedly 

 present in many of the Triassic Reptilia, which are generally 

 recognised to have been the immediate ancestors of the 

 Mammalia. 



The remainder of the evening was devoted to the exhibition 

 of nunaerous other microscopic objects. 



3rd June, 1890. 



Professor Thomas King in the Chair. 



Mr. John Renwick reported on an Excursion made to the 

 Stirling district on 31st May, under the leadership of Mr. Robert 

 Kidston, F.R.S.E., F.G.S. The party included a few members 

 of the Stirling Natural History and Archaeological Society. 

 The glen of the Bannock Water, south of Gillies Hill, was 

 visited, and the botanical and geological features of the district 

 were inspected. Many very fine thoi-n and alder-trees were 

 seen in the course of the excursion. 



Mr. James J. F. X. King, F.E.S., exhibited specimens of Noctua 

 glareosa, E., from Barnsley, and also from Unst, Shetland. 

 The latter were remarkable for their very dark colour, the ground 

 being almost as dark as the markings, giving the insect an 

 appearance very different from its usual aspect. Mr. King 

 also showed specimens of Celcena Haivorthii, C, from the neigh- 

 bourhood of Glasgow, and also from Unst. The latter, although 

 not differing much in colour from the usual form, were little 

 more than half the ordinary size. 



The Chairman exhibited specimens of Cerastixim seniidecan- 

 drum, L., from Tollcross, and reported that Rubus Chaiyicemoi'us, 

 L., had been found by Mr. Thomas B. Wilkie on Inchmoan, one 

 of the islands in Loch Lomond. 



Mr. R. Turner, Vice-President, exhibited specimens of Spircea 

 opulifolia, DC, from the neighbourhood of Milngavie. 



Mr. John Renwick showed specimens of Scutellaria minor, L., 

 from Inch-Cailliach, Loch Lomond. 



